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RMATION REGARDING THE CORRELATED ACTIVITIES OF 
THE COUNCIL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE AND THE ADVISORY COM- 
MISSION, THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNMENT, AND 
THE COMMITTEE OF AMERICAN PHYSICIANS FOR MEDICAL 
PREPAREDNESS. 



Under existing conditions it is desirable that every physician as well as every 
other loyal citizen of America should be prepared to render active service to the 
Federal Government, remembering that the protection afforded by the Govern- 
ment has made it possible for its citizens to enjoy liberty, peace, and prosperity. 

The avenues through which the most effective service can be rendered by 
members of the medical profession have taken definite and concrete form. 
Briefly, the plan is that all medical activities should cooperate with the Council 
of National Defense. 

It would seem desirable at this time to state explicitly just what the Council 
of National Defense and its various agencies are. 

The Council of National Defense was created by act of Congress August 29, 
1916. 

" Sec. 2. That a Council of National Defense is hereby established for the 
coordination of industries and resources for the national security and welfare, 
to consist of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary 
of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and 
the Secretary of Labor. 

" That the Council of National Defense shall nominate to the President, and 
the President shall appoint, an advisory commission, consisting of not more than 
seven persons, each of whom shall have special knowledge of some industry, 
public utility, or the development of some natural resource, or be otherwise 
specially qualified, in the opinion of the council, for the performance of the 
duties hereinafter provided. * * * 

" That the Council of National Defense shall adopt rules and regulations for 
the conduct of its work, which rules and regulations shall be subject to the 
approval of the President, and shall provide for the work of the advisory com- 
mission to the end that the special knowledge of such commission may be de- 
veloped by suitable investigation, research, and inquiry and made available in 
conference and report for the use of the council ; and the council may organize 
subordinate bodies for its assistance in special investigations, either by the 
employment of experts or by the creation of committees of specially qualified 
persons to serve without compensation, but to direct the investigations of ex- 
perts so employed." 

A committee of distinguished physicians was asked to present to the President 
names of medical men suitable for membership on the advisory commission. 
Dr. Franklin H. Martin, of Chicago, was selected. 
The following statement was issued by President Wilson on the night of 
| October 11, 1916, in announcing his appointment of the civilian advisory members 
" of the Council of National Defense : 
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.? 

" The Council of National Defense has been created because the Congress 
has realized that the country is best prepared for war when thoroughly pre- 
pared for peace. From an economic point of view, there is now very little 
difference between the machinery required for commercial efficiency and that 
required for military purposes. 

" In both cases the whole industrial mechanism must be organized in the most 
effective way. Upon this conception of the national welfare the council is 
organized, in the words of the act, for ' the creation of relations which will 
render possible in time of need the immediate concentration and utilization of 
the resources of the Nation.' 

" The organization of the council likewise opens up a new and direct channel 
of communication and cooperation between business and scientific men and all 
departments of the Government, and it is hoped that it will, in addition, become 
a rallying point for civic bodies working for the national defense. The council's 
chief functions are : 

" 1. The coordination of all forms of transportation and the development of 
means of transportation to meet the military, industrial, and commercial needs 
of the Nation. 

"2. The extension of the industrial mobilization work of the Committee on 
Industrial Preparedness of the Naval Consulting Board and complete informa- 
tion as to our present manufacturing and producing facilities adaptable to many- 
sided uses of modern warfare will be procured, analyzed, and made use of. 

" One of the objects of the council will be to inform American manufacturers 
as to the part which they can and must play in national emergency. It is 
empowered to establish at once and maintain through subordinate bodies of 
specially qualified persons an auxiliary organization composed of men of the 
best creative and administrative capacity, capable of mobilizing to the utmost 
the resources of the country. 

" The personnel of the council's advisory members, appointed without regard 
to party, marks the entrance of the nonpartisan engineer and professional 
man into American governmental affairs on a wider scale than ever before. It 
is responsive to the increased demand for and need of business organization 
in public matters, and for the presence there of the best specialists in their 
respective fields. In the present instance the time of some of the members of 
the Advisory Board could not be purchased. They serve the Government without 
remuneration, efficiency being their sole object and Americanism their only 
motive." 

As indicated above the Council of National Defense therefore consists of 
six members of the Cabinet as follows : 

The Secretary of War, chairman. 
The Secretary of the Navy. 
The Secretary of the Interior. 
The Secretary of Agriculture. 
The Secretary of Commerce. 
The Secretary of Labor. 

The Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense consists of 
seven civilians appointed by the President. The members of the Advisory 
Commission are as follows : 

Mr. Daniel Willard, president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, chairman. 
Mr. Hollis Godfrey, LL. D., president of Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Mr. Howard E. Coffin, of Detroit (who is also chairman of the Committee 
on Industrial Preparedness of the Naval Consulting Board). 

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Dr. Franklin H. Martin, of Chicago. 

Mr. Bernard Baruch. financier, of New York. 

Mr. Julius Rosenwald, vice president of Sears, Roebuck & Co., of Chicago. 

Mr. Samuel Gompers, president of the Federation of Labor. 

The two bodies meet in joint session at frequent intervals for the purpose of 
considering problems relating to national defense. 

The executive activities of the Council of National Defense are coordinated 
and carried out through the medium of the Director of the Council of National 
Defense, Mr. W. S- Gifford, and the chiefs of the various departments repre- 
sented by the members of the Advisory Commission. Dr. Frank F. Simpson is 
chief of the Medical Section of the Council of National Defense. 



The Advisory Commission. 

The organization of the Council and of the Advisory Commission provides 
that each member of the Advisory Commission shall gather about himself for 
the most effective coordination of the activities he represents a committee or 
board consisting of representatives of governmental departments on the one 
hand, and civilian members on the other hand. 

The Medical Committee, of which Dr. Franklin H. Martin is chairman, 
consists of — 

William C. Gorgas, Surgeon General of the United States Army ; 
William C. Braisted, Surgeon General of the United States Navy ; 
Rupert Blue, Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service ; 
Col. Jefferson R. Kean, director general of military relief of the American 

Red Cross ; 
Dr. Wm. H. Welch, member of the National Council of Research ; 
Dr. Wm. J. Mayo, chairman of the Committee of American Physicians for 

Medical Preparedness ; 
Dr. Frank F. Simpson, Chief of the Medical Section of the Council of Na- 
tional Defense, and Secretary of the Committee of American Physicians 
for Medical Preparedness. 
Many medical problems which have bearing upon the national defense are 
considered by Dr. Martin's committee and by the Advisory Commission and the 
Council of National Defense before being put into action by the governmental 
departments concerned. 

Committee of American Physicians for Medical Preparedness — Its Com- 
ponent Parts. 

national and state committees. 

In April, 1916, the national committee was appointed by the joint action of 
the presidents of the American Medical Association, the American Surgical 
Association, the Congress of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Clinical 
Congress of Surgeons of North America, and the American College of Surgeons. 
To that committee was delegated the responsible duty of formulating plans 
whereby the civilian medical resources of the United States might be ascer- 
tained and effectively coordinated for such purposes as might be required by the 
Federal Government. 

The national committee organized, selected a chairman and secretary and an 
executive committee, and appointed a State committee of nine strong men in 
each State of the Union. 

It is the fixed policy of this committee that all presidents and secretaries 
of the various State medical societies shall be members of their respective State 



committees during their incumbency in office. From the first it was contem- 
plated that at the proper time the organization of commitees would be perfected 
in each county of the country. That time has now come and county committees 
are being rapidly organized. 

In each instance the State committees are expected to select the county com- 
mittees and to supervise their formation. 

NAME AND PERSONNEL OF COUNTY COMMITTEES. 

It is the fixed policy of the Committee of American Physicians for Medical 
Preparedness that the various important medical interests and activities of 
each county shall be represented on the county committees. This is done for the 
purpose of coordinating the important interests and activities so that the medi- 
cal profession of the Nation may present a compact and effective organization 
for the purpose of aiding effectively in the national defense. In order that this 
plan may be carried out with uniformity and precision throughout the country 
the various State committees have been requested to have all county committees 
bear the following distinguishing name, to wit, The Auxiliary Medical Defense 

Committee of County, in State. The State committees have also 

been requested to provide that the county committees shall include the following 
in their list of members : 

1. All members of National Committee of the Committee of American Physi- 
cians for Medical Preparedness resident in the individual county. 

2. Members of the State committee resident in or near the individual county. 

3. Representatives of the United States Army resident in the individual 
county. 

4. Representatives of the United States Navy resident in the individual 
county. 

5. Representatives of the United States Public Health Service resident in the 
individual county. 

6. Representatives of the State Board of Medical Examiners residing in the 
individual county. 

7. Representatives of the State or City Public Health Service. 

8. Ranking medical officer of the National Guard. 

9. President and secretary of the local Medical Officers' Reserve Corps Asso- 
ciation, if there should be such an organization. 

10. Deans of medical schools. 

11. President and secretary of the County Medical Society. 

12. President and secretary of any other important medical societies. 

13. Medical Director of the local Red Cross units. 

14. Other representative medical men. 

Duties of County Committees. 

From time to time specific duties will be assigned to the various State and 
county committees. These duties will be in accord with the policy of the Council 
of National Defense, and should be executed promptly and precisely by those 
who are called upon to cooperate in this manner with the Council of National 
Defense. 

The committees will call to their assistance those who have been appointed 
field aids by their various State committees and such other physicians as they 
may desire to have cooperate with them. 

Among the specific duties which the county committees are requested to per- 
form at this time are the following : 



First. That these committees cooperate with the National and State Commit- 
tees of the Committee of American Physicians for Medical Preparedness in 
their efforts to gain needful information regarding the civilian medical re- 
sources of their own communities, and in their efforts to coordinate civilian 
medical activities for prompt mobilization in case of need. 

Second. That they secure applicants : 

(c) For the Army Medical Corps. If the President should call the full com- 
plement of troops already authorized by Congress, the Regular Army would 
need about 1,200 additional medical officers. If a million men should be called, 
a corresponding increase would be required. 

(&) For the Medical Officers' Reserve Corps. If war should come, 20,000 to 
30,000 Medical Reserve officers should be enrolled. 

(c) For the Naval Medical Corps, which needs about 350 additional officers. 

(d) For the Coast Defense Reserve Corps of the Navy. Several hundred 
high-class reserve medical officers are desired. 

(e) For the National Guard, such numbers as may be required to bring your 
local National Guard to full strength. 

In the preparation for National Defense the first thing needed will be medi- 
cal officers. 

Physicians recommended for such service should be of the highest type. They 
should be free from suspicion of addiction to drugs or drink. 

Medical Officers who go to field duty should by preference be under the age 
of forty-five. 

Third. That they cooperate, individually and collectively, with the Medical 
Department of the Army, Navy, and Public Health Service, and with the Coun- 
cil of National Defense. 

Fourth. That they cooperate with the Red Cross in their efforts to bring 
that organization to the highest point of efficiency. 

COMMITTEE OF AMERICAN PHYSICIANS — ACTIVITIES ACCOMPLISHED AND IN PROGRESS. 

On the 26th of April, 1916, the Executive Committee of the Committee of 
American Physicians tendered the services of the committee to the President 
of the United States. He expressed himself as being pleased with the patriotic 
tender of services and regretted that existing laws did not permit the accept- 
ance by the Federal Government of gratuitous services, but stated that the 
matter would be referred to the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the 
Navy for the purpose of devising plans by which the good offices of the medical 
profession could be accepted and utilized to best effect by the Federal Govern- 
ment. He further stated that the plans would be referred to the Committee of 
American Physicians for comments and suggestions. The Executive Committee 
was permitted to make suggestions regarding the bill creating the Council of 
National Defense. 

During the last year this committee and its various subsidiary bodies have 
been actively engaged in formulating and carrying out various activities in con- 
formity with the general plans for national defense which have been under- 
taken by the Federal Government. 

The splendid work done by the various. State and other committees was of 
such extent and value that the Council of National Defense at its first meet- 
ing requested the Committee of American Physicians to continue their various 
activities under the guidance of the Council of National Defense, and asked 
the secretary of the Committee of American Physicians to act as chief of the 
Medical Section of the Council of National Defense. Since that time the vari- 
ous activities have gone forward with renewed energy. 



Some of the activities which have either been completed or are well under 
way follow : 

First. Some 20,000 medical men selected from all parts of the country have 
been classified according to the training and the kinds of work which they do 
best. 

Second. An inventory of hospitals and other mrdical institutions is well 
under way. 

Third. It has been the fixed policy of the Committee of American Physicians 
to aid the American Red Cross in bringing its medical department to the high- 
est point of efficiency. With that object in view and in order to foster the 
spirit of cooperation the members of the National Committee of the Committee 
of American Physicians accepted invitations to become members of the national 
committee of the medical department of the American Red Cross. In order 
further to promote the harmonious cooperation of the two organizations most 
of the members of the various State committees of the Committee of American 
Physicians were also made members of the State committees of the American 
Red Cross. The various county committees will also be expected to cooperate 
in carrying out the plans of the two organizations. 

Fourth. The establishment of military training for senior medical students 
in a large percentage of the high-grade medical schools of the country. 

Fifth. The establishment of more effective military training for hospital 
groups for members of the Medical Officers' Reserve Corps, for dental students, 
and others. 

Sixth. The appointment of a Committee for the Standardization of Medical 
and Surgical Supplies and Equipment. The purpose of this work is to designate 
a list of articles essential to the successful conduct of civilian and military 
medical and surgical activities so that in the event that it should become 
necessary to curtail production all of the energies of the drug and instrument 
makers would be devoted to necessary articles rather than to those which are 
desirable but not essential. On this Standardization Committee are representa- 
tives of the Army, the Navy, the Public Health Service, the Red Cross, the 
Council of National Defense, and a number of the most distinguished members 
of the various specialties of civilian medicine. In their work of coordination 
and standardization this committee will take council with the manufacturers of 
the various supplies under consideration. 

Seventh. Much valuable information supplied by medical and other observers 
who have worked in the war zones of Europe is being gathered and classified. 

Eighth. The presidents of important national medical organizations of the 
country have been requested to suggest to the medical section of the Council 
of National Defense the kinds of work which members of those organizations 
are best fitted to perform and to suggest plans whereby their activities and 
resources might be utilized to best advantage. This request does not contem- 
plate an inventory and organization of these resources. The purpose is that 
having received suggestions offered by the various organizations, those sug- 
gestions will be maturely considered, and such as conform to the plans of the 
Council of National Defense and can be utilized to advantage will be adopted. 
The various organizations will, in that case, be requested to cooperate fully 
and promptly in perfecting the plans of the Council of National Defense. 

The foregoing memorandum embodies only a very small percentage of the 
problems now under consideration. It is neither wise nor desirable, however, 
to present them in detail at this time. 

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